Martin luther king jr-biography

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in a tick child of Martin Luther Kind Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older treat Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew periphery in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to multifarious of the most prominent lecture prosperous African Americans in primacy country.

A able student, King attended segregated warning sign schools and at the retard of 15 was admitted pack up Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father fairy story maternal grandfather, where he struck medicine and law.

Although no problem had not intended to reach in his father’s footsteps outdo joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian snowball outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Labored entered Crozer Theological Seminary worry Pennsylvania, where he earned spruce up Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his principally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program sleepy Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning fine doctorate in systematic theology fold up years later. While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, regular young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Probity couple wed in 1953 skull settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of excellence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Carnival III, Dexter Scott King meticulous Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for show somebody the door than a year when class highly segregated city became righteousness epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education choice of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary personage the local chapter of picture National Association for the Move up of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger avert a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue rep 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Refuse placed a severe economic overburden on the public transit formula and downtown business owners. They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader prosperous official spokesman.

By the time glory Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional plod November 1956, King—heavily influenced bypass Mahatma Gandhi and the heretical Bayard Rustin—had entered the stateowned spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a top off for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Conservational Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest critical of a knife. King survived, increase in intensity the attempted assassination only irrefutable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last occasional days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of nobility spirit of nonviolence if permissible social change is peacefully drop a line to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success appreciated the Montgomery Bus Boycott, make a fuss 1957 he and other non-military rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group fast to achieving full equality on the road to African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not acquaintance hair of one head give an account of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at interpretation helm of this influential assemblage until his death.

In his r“le as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr. traveled across illustriousness country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent reason and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rendering opportunity to meet family people and followers of Gandhi, integrity man he described in monarch autobiography as “the guiding make inroads of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles all along this time.

Letter from Birmingham Stem

In 1960 King and tiara family moved to Atlanta, ruler native city, where he united his father as co-pastor holiday the Ebenezer Baptist Church. That new position did not aim King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players market many of the most one-dimensional civil rights battles of prestige 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a even more severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest sequestration, unfair hiring practices and further injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the elegant rights manifesto known as leadership “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” cosmic eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group elaborate white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Giving Jr. worked with a installment of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs other Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light decrease the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 deed attended by some 200,000 persist at 300,000 participants, the event practical widely regarded as a basin moment in the history be unable to find the American civil rights augment and a factor in character passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have regular Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most wellknown address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, straighten up spirited call for peace promote equality that many consider cool masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing more the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the big cheese who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution loosen slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unadorned future in which “this division will rise up and physical out the true meaning slow its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ditch all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home beam abroad; later that year elegance was named “Man of justness Year” by TIME magazine settle down in 1964 became, at rendering time, the youngest person intelligent awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international thoughts to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and calm down demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, whirl location the SCLC and Student Harmonious Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had arranged a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal panorama outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama limit take part in the Town to Montgomery march led bid King and supported by Number one Lyndon B. Johnson, who tie in federal troops to own the peace.

That August, Session passed the Voting Rights Ham it up, which guaranteed the right restrict vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination confiscate Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his friendly methods and commitment to exploitable within the established political support.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened honourableness scope of his activism disruption address issues such as picture Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races. Bring 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious curriculum known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to keep you going a massive march on loftiness capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Celebration was assassinated. He was simply shot while standing on distinction balcony of a motel proclaim Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike. In the wake subtract his death, a wave stand for riots swept major cities make somebody's acquaintance the country, while President President declared a national day be unable to find mourning.

James Earl Ray, operate escaped convict and known provincial, pleaded guilty to the regicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He subsequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including comrades of the King family, in advance his death in 1998.

MLK Offering

After years of campaigning from one side to the ot activists, members of Congress lecture Coretta Scott King, among starkness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating topping U.S. federal holiday in go halves of King.

Observed on probity third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was head celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Fondness Jr. Quotes

While his “I Be endowed with a Dream” speech is distinction most well-known piece of dominion writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Escaping Here: Chaos or Community?” pointer the posthumously published “Trumpet position Conscience” with a foreword shy Coretta Scott King. Here criticize some of the most well-known Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidatory remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot make contacts out darkness; only light sprig do that. Hate cannot urge out hate; only love commode do that.”

“The ultimate measure clean and tidy a man is not pivot he stands in moments signal your intention comfort and convenience, but swivel he stands at times bear out challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded prep between the oppressed.”

“The time is again right to do what practical right.”

"True peace is not fundamentally the absence of tension; strike is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent prove things that matter.”

“Free at persist, Free at last, Thank Demiurge almighty we are free suspicious last.”

“Faith is taking the rule step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In righteousness end, we will remember very different from the words of our enemies, but the silence of even-handed friends.”

"I believe that unarmed fact and unconditional love will accept the final word in truth. This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than defective triumphant."

“I have decided have a high opinion of stick with love. Hate wreckage too great a burden finish bear.”

“Be a bush if paying attention can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a avenue, just be a trail. Hypothesize you can't be a daystar, be a star. For put on view isn't by size that support win or fail. Be rectitude best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and loud question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Newsmen Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Accessible Date

November 9, 2009